PLANTS & PROCESSES Paragon Label has won some 20 FTA Excellence in Flexography awards in the past four years. Paragon of Success Dedication to Excellence Yields Award-Winning Work L aunching into new heights—it’s is a regular occurrence at Paragon Label, Petaluma, CA. It’s been happening for nearly 20 years, and California vintners have taken and continue to take notice. This FTA member’s humble beginnings, rapid growth and increasing recognition parallel that of the print process that has brought it where it is today: fl exography. In addition, its personnel’s mastery of the process and willing- ness to at least attempt any and all jobs has led Paragon to win some 20 awards in four years. Paragon Label was launched in 1999 as a division of Mrs. Grossman’s Paper Co., which had been in business for 20 years. Paragon specializes in high-end custom printing, while Mrs. Grossman’s produces stickers for the retail industry. Both com- panies share an 110,000 square foot building, which houses around 70 employees for Mrs. Grossman’s and 25 for Paragon. The two companies share seven fl exo presses which consist of two Mark Andy 2200 7in. presses, one Mark Andy 4150 10in. press, a 10in.Mark Andy Scout, a 13in. Mark Andy 2200, a 10in. Mark Andy 2200, and a Mark Andy LP3000 13in. press. There is also a HP4500 Indigo on site; along with two Iwasaki units that are used for offl ine die cutting, foiling, and embossing. The last piece of important equipment is its “one of a kind” laser die cut- ting machine. 74 F LEXO When Paragon started, almost one decade ago, it immediately went after the high-quality label business, since Mrs. Grossman’s specialized in intricate and diffi cult work. Located in the heart of the California wine country, Paragon naturally targeted wineries and gourmet food companies. It was a very diffi cult start since the company had to battle the image of printing only “kids’ stickers” and that it was entering into an industry that typically works exclusively with offset. Over the years, it has surmounted both obstacles and has added hundreds of wineries to its cus- tomer list. The company continues to focus on premium labels, which may demand higher prices because of the intense pro- duction costs. METHODICAL APPROACH In order for Paragon to meet the demands of discerning cli- ents who expect nothing but the best, the company has taken labels from being a simple commodity to a fi ne art, placing extreme emphasis on quality, delivery, and customer service. Keeping in mind that a label could end up on a wine that is sell- ing for more than $100 a bottle, each job must be the epitome of perfection. Paragon’s sales and production team are obsessed with quality, which means that just being good is not good enough. Quality control is paramount, there can be no blem- AUGUS T 20 0 8 www. f l e x o g r a p h y. o r g LABELS